The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 89

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Ever since that day, Namgung Baek had been plagued by the same recurring nightmare.
Blurred visions bleeding through his consciousness, fragmentary and haunting.
A figure emerged between the flames of a roaring bonfire. Unable to move his paralyzed body, he could only watch helplessly as the man changed his clothes and removed the mask concealing his face.
In that instant, the revealed visage struck him with overwhelming horror.
An inexplicable sense of dread and terror seized him, rendering him completely immobile.
Through the haze, he watched as the man cast his garments and mask into the flames, while a sinister smile twisted his lips—a smile that deepened the sense of foreboding.
The moment the man’s gaze turned toward him.
“Gasp?!”
Namgung Baek jolted upright in bed.
Drip—
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Swallowing hard, he turned his head only to find his brother’s bedding across the room empty.
He scrambled to his feet and rushed out the door.
“Yeon!”
Calling out, he scanned the courtyard.
Fortunately, he spotted his brother.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
In the pre-dawn darkness, before the sun had even risen.
Yet there stood Namgung Yeon, wielding his blade with fluid grace.
Truly, elegantly.
The sword forms unfolding before him were beyond anything Namgung Baek could hope to replicate.
Each step, each fluid movement of his body—all of it transcended what Namgung Baek could ever achieve.
“Brother?”
“…Yes, you’re working hard even at this ungodly hour.”
“There’s no other time to practice properly.”
Namgung Yeon offered a bitter smile.
Where had the former glory of the Namgung Clan gone? The dwelling they now occupied was dilapidated and shabby.
The courtyard was cramped, and with houses clustered so closely together, any sword practice would be visible to all the neighbors.
Thus, only at such hours could he practice without drawing unwanted attention.
“Forgive me. I swear I’ll earn enough to restore us to the Sega.”
“Hehe—this is enough for me. Please don’t worry yourself.”
Namgung Baek’s voice carried unwavering resolve as he steeled his determination.
In his youth, lacking funds to support his brother, he had mortgaged their crumbling Sega as collateral and borrowed money from the Chohyeon Clan.
Thanks to that, he had escaped that place and now lived in this humble dwelling, but the moment he accumulated enough wealth, they could return.
This was one of the driving reasons Namgung Baek pursued wealth so relentlessly.
As I steeled myself for a moment, my younger brother’s voice reached my ears.
“But why did you wake up so early? It’s much faster than usual.”
“Ah— well, that is….”
At my brother’s question, I paused for a moment.
I couldn’t explain what happened in the dream, nor could I speak of it aloud.
In truth, I couldn’t even tell if it had been reality or merely a dream.
Even if I told someone, if it were real, it would become a problem as reality, and if it were a dream, I’d be mocked for having such a foolish vision.
The Moyong Family and the Nakhyang Jin Family.
It involved two powerful clans intertwined together.
Sigh—
I steadied my breathing and hurriedly prepared to leave.
“I need to go receive work assignments. Haven’t there been plenty of jobs recently? I need to work and earn more so I can buy a house with a training ground.”
“Haha— now that you mention it, that’s true? Our older brother never gets a moment’s rest.”
At Namgung Yeon’s words, I nodded.
Ever since returning to Hapbi, there have been an unusual abundance of jobs. I’ve been so busy I can barely rest, and with the generous pay, I no longer need to venture far.
Life has become quite comfortable.
I was able to buy my younger brother, who had been carrying a worn and chipped sword, a new iron blade—cheap though it was—and even purchased new clothes for him after a long time.
Food has also become quite abundant.
Unlike the past when I could eat properly only once every few days, now I can afford a hearty meal once a day.
Thanks to this, Namgung Yeon, who had been nothing but skin and bones, has filled out considerably.
His sword strikes have become sharper and his movements have changed as well—surely due to better nutrition.
My hard work has borne fruit.
But I’ve spent quite a bit of the money I’ve saved.
I need to work hard again.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes, please come back early.”
“Haha, understood.”
I quickened my pace.
The jobs are usually varied.
From menial tasks to hunting, or if I’m fortunate, wielding my blade like a martial artist to drive off bandits.
The government office is where one can receive such diverse work.
If I arrive even slightly late, others snatch away the assignments, but recently, no matter how late, I’ve always been able to secure well-paying work.
I moved quickly toward the government office.
The courtyard in front of the office was teeming with people seeking work assignments.
Just then, the firmly closed doors of the office opened, and a man and a manager distributing work assignments emerged outside.
The man bowed lightly and slipped away, then glanced at me and clicked his tongue softly in disdain.
I knew who this man was.
He was someone from the Chohyeon Clan, which had taken control of Hapbi in place of the fallen Namgung Clan.
What business did such a person have here at the crack of dawn?
I didn’t quite understand, but I had no time for such thoughts.
I simply watched as people gradually received their assignments, wondering what work I would be given today, and found myself lost in thought about what I could feed my younger brother with the money I earned.
“Huh?”
Yet no matter how much time passed, no work came my way.
The crowd that had filled the space dwindled one by one, and despite finding myself alone, the manager made no move to call upon Namgung Baek.
Eventually, the manager glanced at Namgung Baek standing alone, scratched his head, and turned to head back into the administrative office.
“W-wait, please. I’m Namgung Baek! I’ve always received work here… Is there truly no assignment for me today?”
“Hm? Ah, yes—I know who you are. There’s just no work available.”
What was all that crowd of people doing here just moments ago?
I looked at the manager with an expression of confusion.
I had to work today without fail.
My expenses had been substantial—purchasing a sword, clothes, and necessary supplies.
“How can that be?”
“Hmm… well, it’s not that there’s absolutely nothing…”
“If there is something, I’ll do it without question.”
“Even if it’s cleaning the latrines?”
“…!”
“As it happens, the office does need someone to clean the latrines, but we have no one available. Would you do that?”
“…Is there nothing else?”
Namgung Baek asked with an awkward expression, cold sweat beading on his forehead. No matter how far the Namgung Clan had fallen, was he really being asked to clean latrines?
There was nothing he wanted to avoid more.
“Ha, I’m sorry. There’s nothing else available.”
“…I’ll do it.”
“Hmm… and you’re in a hurry? But I can’t pay much. As you know, all money spent by the office comes from the state treasury, so we’re tighter than other places.”
“How much…?”
“Ten coins.”
Ten coins for cleaning the latrines?
Even cleaning latrines elsewhere would pay more than that.
But the fact that there was no work here meant that nowhere else would have work either.
Tremor—
Namgung Baek’s lips quivered as he closed his eyes to steel himself.
“I’ll do it.”
I had no choice but to accept cleaning latrines for ten coins.

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Clop, clop, clop—
The carriage rushed out of Beijing at a brisk pace, heading toward Anhui.
From Beijing to Hebei, from Hebei to Hannam, and from Hannam to Anhui—the journey would be far longer than I had initially anticipated.
“Don’t we need to stop by the Sega? The Family Head was summoned by the Emperor, so shouldn’t the Young Master be there?”
“My older brother will be there, so it’s fine. Do I seem like I called him in a rush?”
“Surely you didn’t summon the First Young Master specifically to go to Anhui from the start?”
“He was in the middle of returning from his merchant expedition. There’s nothing strange about it.”
“But… he just returned from the Western Regions. Won’t he be exhausted? And now he can’t even rest…”
“When does a merchant ever get a day off? We need to earn money.”
At my words, Jang Chuchyeong and Chaeseoha inside the carriage looked at me with expressions of disbelief.
Their eyes seemed to ask if I was serious, and I nodded confidently in response.
“Being a direct descendant of the Jin Family isn’t all good, is it?”
Chaeseoha shook her head with a sigh.
Her expression suggested she found the bloodline of the Nakhyang Jin Family to be daunting.
I smiled at the expressions of these two.
It was natural, of course, but from their perspective, it must seem strange. Whenever someone returned from a merchant expedition, even the Imperial Guards and other servants were typically given at least ten days of rest.
But that was only for subordinates.
The money needed to feed and house such people didn’t come from digging the ground.
“The Jin Family has wealth precisely because we work without rest. We must labor so that you can eat and live.”
“Is… that so?”
“For us, having no time to rest is natural. When we rest, we lose profit, and that loss eventually affects those below us. Chuchyeong, you don’t want the Sega’s finances to suffer and your monthly stipend to be cut, do you?”
“Of course not!”
“So while you rest, we run ourselves ragged.”
At my words, Jang Chuchyeong nodded.
He seemed to understand now.
But Chaeseoha’s eyes told a different story.
She gazed at me with an even more skeptical look, then shook her head with a faint smirk of disbelief.
“But Young Master, why don’t you work? You’re the most important person here.”
“Do I seem that way?”
“Yes. If I had to name the person in the Jin Family who works the least, it would be you, Young Master.”
“That’s because I’m a manager.”
“Pardon?”
“A manager must have the eye to recognize capable individuals and assign them work suited to their abilities so they can produce results. That is my role.”
At my explanation, Chaeseoha and Jang Chuchyeong wore peculiar expressions—as if my words made sense yet somehow didn’t quite land.
Did they think it was no different from just playing around?
“Your brother’s abilities are outstanding. I assigned him work befitting those abilities. If he had failed to do it properly, that would be my responsibility. Do you understand?”
“Ah— fine, I get it. Listening just gives me a headache anyway… I’ll just think of it as you loafing around. But why are we going to Anhui anyway? It’s incredibly far.”
Chaeseoha finally frowned, unwilling to listen further. Such explanations wouldn’t stick in the mind of a servant anyway.
Or perhaps she understood but simply didn’t want to accept it.
I leaned toward the latter interpretation.
“I’m planning to bring someone in.”
“Someone? Is there someone in Anhui that catches your eye, Young Master?”
“Yes, capable individuals worth employing.”
“Ah— could it be the Namgung Family?”
The moment Chu Hyeongi spoke that name, Chaeseoha’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
Though unconnected to the martial world, there was no way she wouldn’t know the name of the Namgung Family. Moreover, like her own clan, they were a place that had once made a name for themselves in the Central Plains before crumbling.
“I’ve heard of them too. But Namgung Baek doesn’t seem like someone worthy of your employment, Young Master?”
“Ha ha— I know that too. That bastard’s famous. For being incompetent.”
Not only Chaeseoha but even Gu Gunbaek, sitting in the driver’s seat, shared the same assessment.
The public opinion was that poor.
Because they were once called the greatest sword family under heaven and revered by all, when they collapsed, those who wished to tear them down spread vicious rumors.
Moreover, even setting that aside, their evaluation could only be harsher than others.
Public opinion demands that one demonstrate such merit, and if one fails to do so, disappointment is inevitable.
That was the shadow cast beneath the reputation of being the greatest sword family under heaven.
“I understand well. But don’t worry. I’ll demonstrate sufficient capability.”
I wasn’t going there with only Namgung Baek in mind from the start.
The real objective was Namgung Yeon.
Recruiting her was the top priority.
But if someone asked whether Namgung Baek was unusable, I would have shaken my head.
Unlike Namgung Yeon, who wielded her sword without worry while receiving all manner of support from her older brother, Namgung Baek had been forced to support his younger sister since childhood.
Yet in this harsh Central Plains, he had survived until now.
Intact, without losing a single limb.
Moreover, he possessed the will to overcome talent through effort.
I smiled, thinking of that fellow.
“But that person rejected your proposal last time. Why would this time be different?”
“Who knows?”
I continued to receive reports on Namgung Baek’s situation through the proprietor of the Unryong Inn in Hefei.
Moreover, through the proprietor’s connections, I had been supporting Namgung Baek from behind, but according to recent information, the Chohyeon Clan seemed to have blocked it.
Even fallen as they were, the Chohyeon Clan, knowing the depth of a prestigious family’s power, would need to cut off any situation where new shoots might sprout to feel at ease.
Undoubtedly, the Moyong Family had a hand in it as well.
That fellow, who had been living well through the proprietor’s support, would suddenly fall into poverty.
This time won’t be easy, will it?
I let out a quiet chuckle without realizing it.
The surroundings were practically pushing two big fish into my hands.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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